Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Ind. Decisions - 7th Circuit decides one Indiana case today

Joshua Bunn quit his job at a Dairy
Queen franchise and sued the franchisee, his former employer,
under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Bunn, who is
vision-impaired, believed that the employer failed to accommodate
his disability as required by law and that it subjected
him to illegal disparate treatment when it reduced his scheduled
hours during the winter months. The district court granted the employer’s motion for summary judgment on all
claims, and Bunn appealed. After disposing of an initial
procedural argument, we find that Bunn’s failure-to-accommodate
claim falls short because the employer did reasonably
accommodate Bunn’s disability. Next, we find that his disparate
treatment claim fails because he has not introduced
sufficient evidence to create a triable issue of material fact and
because the undisputed facts show that the defendant is
entitled to judgment as a matter of law. We affirm the judgment
of the district court in all respects. * * *

Bunn’s procedural argument asks us to wrest away from
the district court its discretion to interpret and apply its own
local rules. We decline to do so. His failure-to-accommodate
claim fails because Khoury in fact provided a reasonable
accommodation, and his disparate treatment claim fails
because he has not produced sufficient evidence to create a
triable issue of fact under any method of proof. We AFFIRM
the judgment of the district court.